Lewis clayton erwin



(No Model.)

L. C. ERWIN.

HARNESS.

No. 434,259. Patented Aug. 12, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

LEVIS CLAYTON ERVIN, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

HARNESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of lLetters Patent No. 434,259, dated August 12, 1890.

Application tiled May 29, 1890. Serial No. 353,587. (No model.)

.To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, LEWIS CLAYTON ERWIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at York, in the county of York and State of Pennsyl- Vania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l represents a side elevation of my improveddevice applied to a portion of a vehielo-shaft; Fig. 2, a similar view of the same, looking from the inside; Fig, 3, a vertical transverse sectional view of the same and Fig. 4 a plan view of a pair of shafts or thills, showing the sleeves slidable and connected to the singletree.

The invention is designed as an improvement upon that class of detaching devices for harness covered by my former patent, No. 369,282, granted August 30, 1887; and it has for its object to improve the efficiency of the same and obviate some of the defects found in practice to exist therein, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the annexed drawings by letter, a designates a portion of an ordinary vehicleshaft, having affixed to it at a suitable point a collar or sleeve Z?, which is provided on its inner side with a radially-projecting lug b.

Embracing the collar b is a clasp consisting,

essentially, of the two semicireular embracing portions c c', hinged together under the shaft, as at c. The portion c is provided with an opening, into which projects the lug b on the collar, and this part' c has also formed on it an upward extension CZ, provided with a loop d at its upper end for the attachment of the back-band strap... The part c has also formed on or secured to it the lateral loops ff for the attachment, respectively, of the hante and hold back straps. of the outer portion c of the clasp is an'upwardly-extending tongue e, which when the clasp is closed upon the shaft tits in an opening in the bar el. A normally-depressed Formed on the upper end l spring-actuated bolt g is secured on the face of the bar d for the. purpose of holding the tongue e in its recess and thereby keep the clasp tightly clasped upon the collar b. The lower end of this bolt is beveled off in order thatl it will be raisedautomatically bythe end of the tongue when the claspis Closed upon the shaft. To raise the bolt gand release the tongue e, in order that the clasp may open and release the shaft,a cam-lever h is pivoted on the rear side of the bar d in the rear of the bolt. The lower or forward end of this cam-lever engages under a pin g', secured to the sliding bolt g and working in a slot d in the bar d, and its upper or rear end is connected to an operating cord or wire h', which may be carried through suitable eyes on the shaft back to within easy reach of the driver. Vhen the operating-cord is pulled` on, the cam-lever raises the bolt g and releases the tongue e, whereupon the clasp falls open and releases the shaft. If desired,aspring b, as

shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, may be se-'I cured to the back of the clasp and adapted to the disengagement of the clasp from the collar. It will be observed that one of these devices is attached to each shaft of the vehicle, and the operating-cords may be attached together, so that both shafts maybe released at the Sametime.

This invention provides simple means whereby all traces and singletrees may be done away with, and whereby the horse may be quickly detached from the vehicle should he become unmanageable and dangerous.

Should it be desired, instead of affixing the collars h tothe shafts they may be made slid? able thereon and connected by tongues le' and rods k to the respective ends of the singletree,

as shown in Fig. a.' In myformer patentthe IOO lug b', to receive all the draft, thereby leaving the outer portion c free to fall outwardly when released.

The releasing devices in my former patent were not positive enough, and the operatingcords, arranged as was necessary in said construction, were liable to become tangled and broken. These difficulties are obviated by the present invention, and a compact, durable, and positive device produced.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure,is-

1. The combination of a collar l), adapted to it the shaft and provided with an inwardlyprojecting lug b', a clasp constructed of two hinged sections adapted to fit and clasp the said collar, the inner section of the clasp being provided with strap-loops and an aperture for the reception of the saidlug b', and means for locking this clasp upon the collar, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of the two-part clasp, the inner part being provided with an upright bar d, and the outer part with a tongue c, adapted to fit within a recess in the bar cl, a

sliding bolt provided witlia pin and adapted to engage the said tongue e, a cam-lever carried by the bar'cl and adapted to engage the pin on the sliding' bolt, and an operating-cord, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a collar adapted to fit the shaft, and provided with an inwardlyprojecting lug b', a clasp constructed of two hinged sections adapted to embrace the said collar, the inner section of the clasp being' provided with an aperture for the said lug,

and an upright bar d, and the outer section with a tongue e, adapted to it Withinareoess in the aforesaid bar d, a slidingbolt adapted to engage the said tongue c, a cam-lever carried by the bar d and adapted to engage a projection on the sliding bolt, and an operating-cord, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

L. CLAYTON ERWIN. Witnesses: A l

DAVID K. STROMAN, CHARLES MARKEL. 

